Bells for Jake
by castaway11
Summary: An AU before twilight. Bella grew up in Forks and her and Jacob are best friends. Jake/Bella/Edward
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi, this is going to be an AU where Bella grows up in Forks. This starts before Twilight series takes place. Jake and Bella are both the same age for the sake of my sanity and writing convenience. The first few chapters are going to have direct lifts from New Moon and Eclipses for explanation purposes. Of course, everything belongs to Stephanie Meyers. Please let me know what you think and ask any questions if you need anything clarified. xo**

Chapter One: When Bella goes to La Push

Bella stifled a yawn with her fist. Her head leaning against the passenger seat window as she tugged the warm blanket closer around her chilled torso. It wasn't even five AM and her father was dragging her out of the house and to the Black's in La Push. Her father went fishing with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater nearly every weekend and this weekend wasn't an exception. Bella did not like being up this early but Charlie didn't feel comfortable leaving his daughter alone in Fork's all day, so he dragged her along, compromising by letting stay home from fishing and hanging out with Billy's kids for the day. Usually while in La Push, the twins or Leah 'watched' her, even though she was fourteen years old and totally capable of taking care of herself. She went along with it because she got to hang out with Jake, Billy's son. Jake and Bella had been thrown together so many times for their weekend fishing expeditions that the pair had become thick as thieves over the years.

Bella dozed off on the short trip to La Push. Awakening slightly when the car stopped in front of the Black's tiny red house. She could hear the driver door open and saw her father get out to grab her bag from the back seat. Slowly and somewhat grudgingly, Bella peeled her face from the window and wiped the sleep from her eyes as she undid her seatbelt with her free hand. She gathered up her blanket in the crook of her arm, exited the car and trudged up the front door. Charlie followed close behind her carrying her bag. Billy was already waiting by the door with his fishing gear and a huge grin on his face.

"Morning, Billy." Bella mumbled, giving him a quick hug before making her way inside and plopping down on the other seat that wasn't occupied by Jacob's large frame. Jake was draped over the long couch with his feet hanging off the end and resting on the coffee table, dozing peacefully. Bella couldn't help but notice that he looked even longer. The kid was only fourteen but lately he'd been growing like growing like a weed, he was already taller then Charlie and sure enough reaching close to Billy's six foot something height before he became wheel chair bound.

"Good morning, Swans!" Billy said cheerfully. "Bella, go ahead and take Jake's bed if you're still tired, he slept out here so you could have it." Bella's heart did a little flip at that. That was Jake for you, always doing sweet gestures and thoroughly confusing Bella even further. They were best friends, but lately Bella has been having these… feelings. She talked with Angela and Jessica about it, about how she got really excited to see Jacob on weekends and how his sunny smile made her tummy buzz with butterflies and when he hugged her goodbye she felt all funny and jello like. Both girls concluded that Bella had developed a crush on her oldest friend. Is that possible? Did Bella Swan have a crush on Jacob Black?

Over the summer Jake had changed a lot. He'd gotten taller and his wiry frame was beginning to thicken with muscles. He was also sweet and caring and just so _warm_ and the way he smiled at Bella, it made her feel like she was the only girl in the world. And the way his eyes lit up when he saw her made her convinced that he liked her too. He made her feel special and Bella wasn't used to feeling like that for Jacob.

"You ready you old coot?" Charlie asked Billy, slapping his shoulder in greeting.

"Sure am! See you later Bella, have fun." Billy told her and began rolling his chair down the ramp while Charlie set down Bella's bag and picked up Billy's fishing gear. Charlie walked over and kissed the top of her head before following Billy out to the cruiser. He turned around one last time to remind Bella to mind Rachel and Rebecca. Bella gave them both a wave and said, "I will dad. Have fun, you two!"

Bella got up so she could close the door after them. She stood there for a minute watching as Charlie helped Billy into cruiser and loaded up their gear in the trunk. Once they were both safely inside the car, they turned to give Bella one last wave. She returned their goodbyes before closing the front door and locking it.

Bella was touched by Jacob offering up his bed, she knew first hand how lumpy and uncomfortable the little tan couch was but still, Jacob had given it up so she could rest easy. It was really sweet. She contemplated going back to his room for sleeping but by the point she had already plopped back down on to the plush armchair. She draped her blanket over herself and was all nice and cozy. By the time she decided that maybe she should move to the room her lids were already closed and she was halfway off to lala land.

Bella woke six hours later with warm brown eyes a mere five inches from her own. Startled, she jumped up, accidently knocking the owner in the gut with her knee. Jacob Black fell to the floor, clutching his side and rolling around dramatically, howling in mock pain.

Bella could hear Rachel laughing from the small dining room. "That's what you get for being a weirdo, Jake. I told you, you were going to scare her." Rachel scolded him before adding a friendly, "Morning, Bella!"

"Hey Rach! Jake." Bella glared at him for just second before letting an easy smile slip onto her lips. She couldn't stay mad at him for longer then five seconds. She was distracted by an ache in her neck and winced at the soreness. She tried rolling the muscles with her finger to work out the kink. She had slept totally wrong and her neck was bothering her. She rolled her head forward and then back and forth on her shoulders trying to work out the muscle. But it just hurt really bad so she stopped trying to move it and instead massaging it carefully with her fingers.

"I think I slept wrong." Bella told them. Rachel motioned for Bella to sit at the table. Bella obliged, trying to rolling her head but wincing from the effort.

"Bella, you should have slept in my bed. That's why I slept out here…" Jake told her, shaking his head.

"Hush Jacob, she probably didn't want to sleep in your bed. You haven't changed the sheets since first grade." Rachel told him, laughing at her own wittiness.

"I changed them last night" Jake grumbled, clearly not enjoying his sisters sense of humor. Jake wasn't thoughtless, he knew Bella would appreciate clean sheets.

"Either way, it's too late now. But that was really sweet of you Jake. I was just too tired to make my way back there, once I sat on the couch I dozed off." Bella told him not wanting his thoughtfulness to go unnoticed.

Rachel was rummaging around the cupboards and then the fridge. Bella could hear the buzz from the microwave and felt a cool compress against her neck that sent shivers down her spine. "Leave that there for a minute." Rachel told her before heading back to the kitchen and pulling the heating pad from the micro. Rachel wrapped it in a thin towel and came back pulling off the ice pack and inspecting Bella's neck.

"How does it feel?" Rachel asked.

"Cold and numb…"

"Perfect!" Rachel said her cheerily before putting on the warm pad. The sensation of warm on cool was odd at first but still felt oddly pleasing. Once Rachel thought the pad had been on long enough she took it off and rubbed some sort of minty smelling oil between her palms to warm it up. Carefully, she placed her fingers on either side of Bella's neck and began rubbing her stiff muscles. "Ah, Rach you are a miracle worker…" Bella cooed. She could feel her muscles loosening up as Rachel worked. "What is that?" Bella asked.

"It's a concoction I whipped up to help my dad when his legs ache. It helps with muscle spasms and inflammation and it eases soreness and pain." Rachel explained, careful fingers poking and prodding around Bella's neck.

"How's that?" Rachel asked her after a couple of minutes. Bella tentatively rolled her head back and forth, there was a bit of soreness but no pain whatsoever. Rachel was getting really good with her herbal remedies, Bella was impressed.

"Amazing Rachel. Thank you! You should bottle that up and sell it. You'd make a fortune." Bella told her appreciatively.

Rachel chuckled but waved her hand. "I don't want a fortune sweetie, I just want to help heal people." Bella nodded her head, she could appreciate that. "Hey where is Becca?" Bella asked, wondering where Rachel's twin was.

"Oh, Becca left about an hour after you got here. She went hiking at third Beach with some friends." Jacob told Bella. Bella looked outside and noted the sun and clear skies. "It's a beautiful day for hiking." Bella agreed. Even though she wasn't much of hiker herself. Becca however was an adventure enthusiast and liked to spend her weekends exploring. Hiking, swimming, kayaking anything fun and anything new.

Bella stood up then, stretching until she felt a few satisfying pops in her back. "I'm going to grab a shower." She told them while collecting her backpack from the living room and walking down the hallway to the first door on the right. It opened up to a small, but clean bathroom. Wasting no time, she was in and out of the shower within ten minutes, wearing a pair of cut off shorts and a loose-fitting gray t-shirt. She left her wet hair as is, hanging down her back so it could air dry. She was ruffling the towel through her hair when she heard loud voices getting louder. Abandoning the towel in a basket Bella rushed over to the front door where an argument was occurring.

Jacob was in front of the door arguing with an angry Quileute man. The man was absolutely gigantic. "Jacob, I just want to talk to Rachel-" the man started but Jacob cut him off. "And she said she doesn't want to talk to you, asshole! Bye." With that Jacob slammed the door shut with such fury the large window next to it rattled dangerously. "God, what is with that guy?" Jacob muttered to himself. "You okay, Rach?" He asked her. Bella noticed that she was as far back in the living room as one can get, pressed against the wall.

Bella rushed over and put a hand on her back, a bit of worry taking over her. "I'm fine. Really. He's just so creepy and won't leave me alone." Rachel told them, shaking her head and straightening her clothes. "Who is he?" Bella asked curiously.

"Paul Lahote, Neighborhood skank." Rachel said. "Slept with practically half the girls on the rez, even dated Becca for a bit and now he is interested in _me_." Rachel was seething, clearly disgusted with this Lahote guy. Although Bella thought she had good reason, he did sound kind of slutty.

"He dated your twin sister and thinks he can date you, too?" Bella asked her incredulously. "Sounds like a piece of work."

"Not only that… He shows up everyday begging to talk to me like I _owe_ him something. Like he _owns_ me and has a right to talk to me. It's effing weird." Rachel told them while shaking her head, her pretty face contorted into a mask of disgust.

"Lahote is a douche bag. End of story. If he comes around again I'm grabbing dad's shotgun." Jacob warned them.

Just then Bella's stomach growled loudly, making them all burst out laughing in the tense moment. Jacob gently grabbed and her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen. Bella noticed that her skin felt all tingly where Jacob's hand touched hers. "Let's get you some food." He told her kindly, all his anger fading away.

Jacob rummaged through the fridge and cabinets looking for food. "Cereal sounds good!" She told him as she pulled the box of captain crunch off the shelf and made herself a bowl. She sat at the table again, and Jacob joined her with a glass of juice and an apple. "I already at this morning." He mumbled through a mouthful of apple.

"I'm going to go work on some homework in my room, I'll catch you both later." Rachel told them before leaving down the hall. "Let me know if you guys leave!" She shouted before closing the door.

Jake and Bella sat in silence at the table, eating their food.

Jake looked at Bella, who was swirling her spoon around her cereal and trying to catch all the berries. Those were here favorites. Jake smiled. Bella noticed Jake staring at her and looked up at Jake, flashing him a pretty grin before asking him what he'd like to do today.

"We should definitely go outside and take advantage of the nice weather while we have it." Jacob told her and Bella agreed. They day was too beautiful to waste indoors.

"First Beach?" They asked each other in unison before laughing.

"Sounds like a plan Bells."

Bella finished the rest of her cereal and washed her and Jacob's dishes in the sink. Jake told Rachel they were heading to the beach for the day and that they'd be back before dinner. Together, Jake and Bella slipped on their shoes and walked towards the ocean.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hey All! This chapter features heavy lifts from New Moon! I'm not going to cite them because it will just look messy. Of course, all settings, characters and themes belong to Stephanie Meyer. I hope you enjoy how I manipulated it a bit. Please leave feedback and ask any questions if you have them. Thanks! xo**

Chapter Two: Where Bella and Jake Take a Walk

They were walking south of Jacob's house following the dirt road that lead to first beach. This particular pathway led them above the shore to a small cliff that gave them a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. They were walking slowly, kicking up dust and rocks along the way. They were competing to see who could kick a rock the farthest, a competition that Jake was able to win with ease.

"Hey, that's no fair," Bella Joked. "You have giant feet." She said laughing. Jake seriously did have huge feet. Jake was kind of giant all over, the kid was fourteen like Bella but could easily pass for a senior in high school… probably even older then that.

"Bells the size of your feet doesn't determine how far the rock goes, it's the power behind the kick." Jake began, explaining the physics behind velocity and his explanation was getting technical, so she wasn't paying close attention.

That is when Bella noticed four figures standing on a rocky ledge, much to close to the precipice. She was familiar with cliff diving, but she had never in her life see anyone jump from the tallest cliff, she had been warned many times that dropping from that height was fatal. She couldn't tell from the distance how old they were, but she assumed they were men. As she watched, the tallest person stepped closer to the brink and threw himself off the ledge. Bella stopped walking and her mouth dropped open in horror. "Oh no!" She shouted, grabbing Jake's arm and pointing in the direction of the rocky cliff. "That guy – he just jumped off the highest cliff! We have to do something! Bella threw her bag on the ground and began rummaging through her contents looking for her phone. "Where is it?" She said each word in frustration tossing out the contents on the dusty path when they weren't what she was looking for.

Jacob laughed, and Bella stopped her rummaging and looked up at him like he was crazy. How could he be so callous? A drop from that high could be fatal! But soon she heard the splash of water and was finally able to take a breath of air when the first jumper's head bobbed up and over the water and the three men on the cliff cheered.

Bella wasn't new to cliff diving, she had done it a few times with Jake, Quil, Embry and Willow. But she never, ever jumped of the top ledge like those crazy fools and she never seen anyone else dare attempt to try.

"Who are they?" Bella asked, squinting in the direction. She couldn't really see who they were from the distance, but she could see the next man jump into the water below. "They are insane!" Bella concluded, shaking her head.

Jacob made a disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. "The La Push gang."

Bella looked at him incredulously, since when has there been a gang?

"Well, it's not like that." Jacob was quiet before a moment, pondering his next thoughts. "They are like hall monitors gone bad. They don't start fights, they keep the peace." He snorted but continued on.

"There was this guy from somewhere up by the Makah rez, big and kinda scary-looking. Well, word got around that he was selling drugs to kids, and Sam Uley, the first guy who jumped, and his disciples ran him off the rez. They're all about 'our land' and tribe pride… it's getting ridiculous. The worst part is that the council takes them seriously. Quil says the that the council actually meets with Sam." He shook his head, face full of resentment. "Quil also heard from Leah Clearwater that they call themselves 'protectors' or something like that." Bella was shocked to realize that Jake had his hands balled into fists.

"You don't like them very much- Wait you said Samuel Uley? Isn't he dating Leah?" Bella was clearly confused, although she had only met Sam a couple times before and didn't really _know_ him, she knew that if Leah was with him he had to be a decent dude.

"Yeah, he _was_ dating Leah. Until he dumped her for her cousin Emily." Bella's mouth dropped open from shock. "Are you kidding me?" she huffed clearly disgusted with Sam and his despicable actions. Leah had been so in love with Sam. Leah was only eighteen but she had told Bella and the twins she wanted to _marry_ him someday. What an asshole Bella thought.

Jake continued on. "So, no I don't like them very much. But it's not just that… last semester I was at the corner shop with Quil and Embry. Sam came by with his followers, Jared and Paul, the guy that was just at the house - and Quil's big mouth just had to say _something_ and it pissed Paul off. Paul's eyes got all dark, and he was so mad he was shaking or something. But Sam put his hand on Paul's chest and shook his head. Paul looked at him for a minute and calmed down. Honestly it was like he was going to tear us up if Sam didn't stop him." Jacob huffed. "Protectors, my ass" he muttered. Kicking a rock clear off the cliff and into the water and watching sink into the depths below.

"Isn't Sam too _old_ for a 'gang' though?" Bella asked skeptically, throwing finger quotes into the air.

"Yeah, he was supposed to go to college, but he stayed. And no one gave him any crap about it either." Jake kicked another rock into the ocean and Bella decided to pull the rest of her things from her bag to set up a spot where they were.

Bella peaked up at him from her work, noticing that his face was set in an unfamiliar way. It was outrage and something else that she couldn't put her finger on.

"I get that it's all… annoying and strange. It's definitely strange. But I don't get why you are taking it so personally?" Bella asked him, peaking up at him through her lashes and biting her lip. She hoped she didn't offend him further. It was obviously a touchy subject.

However Jake just pulled of his shirt and plopped down on the blanket. He smiled half-heartedly at Bella before changing the subject entirely and asking about how school was.

Bella sighed but went along with Jake's not so subtle subject change. She talked about Fork's and school for a moment, letting Jake calm down. She told him about the new family that had moved there this year, the Cullen's. Her nose curled up in disgust when describing the freakishly perfect and beautiful family. She also told Jake about how Jessica and Bella have started hanging out more lately and that maybe Jessica wasn't half bad. She talked about her classes briefly but stopped when she noticed he wasn't really paying attention, he was staring into the water at the four men, who had by now all jumped into the ocean and were rough housing.

"Jake…?" Bella said his name hesitantly, worried about upsetting him further… but he looked like he need to talk about it. He turned his face towards her "yeah bells?"

Bella took a moment before plunging on. "What's really bothering you? About the Sam thing, I mean. Or is it something else?" Bella watched his face carefully, several emotions passed through his handsome features before he grimaced and sighed heavily.

"It's just… they way the treat me. It creeps me out." Jacob's words started to rush out now. "You know, the council is supposed to be made up of equals. But if there was a 'leader' it would be my dad. I've never been able to figure out why they treat him the way they do. Why does his opinion matter the most? It's got something to do with his father's father. My great-grandpa Ephraim Black, was sort of the last chief we had and they still listen to Billy, maybe because of that. But me? I'm just like everyone else Nobody ever treated me special…until now." Jake took a deep breath and looked as if he was pondering his next words.

Bella was caught off guard however and her eyes widened. "Sam… treats you special?"

"Yeah." Jacob agreed, looking up at Bella with troubled eyes. "He looks at me like…. He's waiting for something. Like I'm going to join his stupid gang someday. He pay's attention to me more then the other guys and I hate it." Jake looked at Bella, trying to gauge her expression.

Bella's eyes however hardened and when she spoke with fervor. "How dare he? You don't have to join anything!" Bella was angry. Not only because Sam was bothering Jacob, but because Jake looked so upset about it and she hated to see Jake like that.

"Why didn't you tell me before? We can go to my dad…" Bella began spouting off ideas. However Charlie probably wasn't a bad avenue to pursue, he was the chief of police for Fork's after all.

Jake just groaned. "But Bella, what could we do? Accuse him of staring at me and making me feel funny. No, that wouldn't work." He shook his head and Bella shrugged her shoulders.

"I just – I just hate to see you like this." Bella told him placing her small hand on his shoulder and rubbing small circles with her thumb.

"Also," Jake plunged on his voice sounding kind of strange. "Embry has been avoiding me." Bella had noticed that she hadn't seen Embry around the last few times she visited. "He missed a week of school, but he was never home when we tried to see him. And when he came back he looked _terrified_. Quil and I both tried to talk to him but he ignored us." Bella moved over so she was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Jake, well actually it was more like shoulder to Jake's armpit in Bella's case but you get the picture.

Jake was still staring at the group in the water, who was now climbing out and talking loudly. Jake rumbled on, "Embry is over there right now, with Sam." Jake pointed towards the water a look of defeat on his face. Bella's eyes widened in shock when she realized the tall man in cut offs _was_ Embry, he had chopped off all of his beautiful curls and looked like a carbon copy of the other three boys. It was bizarre. "The whole cult thing bothered Emb, more then it bothered me and now Embry is following Sam around like a lost puppy. I don't know what this means. I can't figure it out and I feel like I have to because Embry is my friend and… Sam's looking at _me_ and…" Jacob trailed off balling up his fists and clutching his temples.

Bella could feel a certain horror spreading through her. She wrapped her arms around Jacob's side and pulled him closer.

"Have you talked to Billy about this?" Bella asked hopefully, surely Billy could help Jacob, he was the chief after all.

Jacob snorted. "I did, but he wasn't helpful."

"What did he say?

Jake's expression turned sarcastic and when he spoke, his voice mocked the deep tones of his fathers. "It's nothing you need to worry about now, Jacob. In a few years, if you don't… well, I'll explain later." And Jacob returned to his normal voice… "What am I supposed to get from that? Is he trying to say it's some stupid coming of age thing? This is something else. Something wrong."

Jacob shuddered and Bella's arms tightened instinctively around his torso. She lifted her chin up to look at him and noticing he was biting his lip and clenching his hands again. He looked like he was about to cry. Bella buried her face into his chest, he was so big and she felt so small like she was a child hugging a grownup.

"Jake, it will be okay. I promise. If it get's worse you can come and live with dad and I. Don't worry." Jacob looked down at Bella, with her face still buried and her voice slightly muffled but he felt a surge of appreciation for her. She looked up at him with her big, chocolate eyes and he noticed that she was on the verge of tears as well. He wrapped his arms around her this time, pulling her closer and leaned his head on hers.

"Thanks Bella." Jacob's voice sounded huskier then usual. They sat like that for a moment, sitting on the woven blanket wrapped and in each others arms. Bella _really_ liked it. She really liked Jacob.

It was Jacob who pulled away first and scooted a little back. Bella felt a sting of rejection but quickly tried to mask her hurt. Just because she had a huge crush on Jacob Black didn't mean he had to return her sentiments. And by hugging him for so long she might have blurred the lines of their friendship, what if he was upset with her?

However Jake just swiveled his body around to face her. "If this is how you are going to react, I will start to freak out more often." His voice was light and normal again and Bella's heart soared as his fingers touched her hair, soft and tentative.

Maybe he did like her after all.

Jake trailed his thumb down her cheek in an agonizingly slow motion, and stopped when he reached her lips. "You' re so beautiful, Bells" he whispered.

Bella could feel her heart quicken when she noticed Jacob staring down at her lips and she shivered slightly when he licked his own. He gently pulled her face closer to his, leaning his head down low in the process. He was a mere inch away when he lifted his eyes to meet Bella's as if asking for permission. She nodded her head once and parted her lips in expectation.

It seemed like it took hours but finally their lips touched. Jake's mouth was warm and soft against her own. Both of their hearts were thumping wildly from the surge of fireworks that erupted between them.

Bella couldn't believe this was actually happening. How many times had she thought about this moment and here it was. Her first kiss better then she ever could have expected. It was over within seconds but it stirred up feelings that had Bella breathless, she definitely wasn't conflicted about her feelings anymore.

Bella Swan was in love with Jacob Black.

Jacob curled his arms around Bella hugging her securely to his chest and whispering in her ear. "Love you Bells." Bella hugged him back, her heart soaring before telling him she felt the same.

They sat on the beach in quiet, wrapped in each others arms happy and content. Not thinking about Sam and his gang, but rather contemplating the change of direction their friendship just took.


End file.
